Bishop Bagaforo of Kidapawan condemns killing of Church worker

Bishop Bagaforo of Kidapawan condemns killing of Church worker

A portrait of Wilerme Agorde is displayed outside his home in Brgy. Illustre, President Roxas, North Cotabato. Agorde, a social action worker of the Kidapawan diocesan, was gunned down by unidentified men on Feb. 19. (Nassa photo)

MANILA, Feb. 25, 2017— A Catholic bishop has condemned the assassination of a social action worker of the Diocese of Kidapawan in southern Philippines.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said it is alarming that even a Church worker who has been working for the poor fell victim to ‘extrajudicial killings’.

The prelate deplored the killing of Wilerme Agorde, a 64-year-old peasant leader and worked as project coordinator of the agrarian reform program of the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa).

“We condemn the many extrajudicial killings happening today which have become so common,” Bagaforo said.

The recent murder of Wilerme “Ka Wiling” Agorde, according to him, is causing fear and insecurity among civilians particularly among the human rights and peace advocates in the area.

Agorde, 64, was stabbed and gunned down in the presence of his grandchildren by unidentified assailants in Brgy. Illustre, President Roxas, North Cotabato last Feb. 19.

He has been at the forefront of a campaign with his fellow farmers who have been struggling for decades for ownership of the unused agricultural land-reservation in Arakan town.

About 5,000-hectare property is owned by University of Southern Mindanao but the 1,000-hectare portion was allocated to the Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology.

According to Nassa, the disputed land had been occupied by the farmers for several decades.

Last Feb 9, the Department of Agrarian Reform voiced support for the the distribution of land reservation for the 2,110 potential beneficiaries during the dialogue conducted with the Commission on Higher Education.

The Nassa said this recent development indicates that the farmers “are winning in the agrarian campaign”.

“However, the killing of Ka Wiling is interpreted by the community as a way to silence the leaders in defending their land rights,” it said.

“The land conflict is escalating as the farmer groups are momentum in pursuing their land rights,” the Nassa added.

The killing of Agorde was reportedly the third farmer-leader slain in North Cotabato this February alone.

Church leaders are appealing to the authorities to stop the escalation of killings among farmers and their leaders.

“Other farmer leaders in Arakan are now in hiding for fear of their lives. They must not be included in the list of casualties in the on-going land rights problem within the school reservation,” the Nassa said.

Agorde was also known as a long time church worker in various ministries. He was a lector, Basic Ecclesial Community Coordinator, and coordinator of the Justice and Peace Integrity of Creation Program.

He was also a member of the Arakan parish team since the time of Italian priest Father Fausto Tentorio who was brutally killed in 2011 and whose case remains unsolved until now.

“We do not know of their deaths can ever obtain justice since Fr. Tentorio’s murder and other killings are still waiting for fair investigation,” Bagaforo said. (CBCPNews)

Anti-death penalty advocate cries railroading

MANILA, Feb. 25, 2017– A lay prison ministry official of the Catholic Church scored the undue haste of the House leadership to pass a measure seeking to revive the death penalty by next week.

Mr. Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the CBCP Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, said the termination of the plenary debates ahead of schedule is tantamount to railroading the passage of the bill.

Diamante said this happened after seven session days and with only seven of the 50 agreed lawmakers who wanted to interpellate the bill’s sponsor were given the floor.

“The House leadership is hell bent to pass it even as it appears during the debates that our side is winning the arguments,” he said.

Diamante called on lay groups and anti-death penalty advocates to make their presence felt in Congress as the House leadership may put the measure to a vote next week.

He said Feb. 29 and March 1 are “crucial dates” as the majority “will most likely exert its will on the Congressmen and call for party vote on the matter”.

“May we therefore call on you to please be at the House of Representatives on the said dates from 4pm onwards and let us fill-up the gallery,” added Diamante.

“This will definitely inspire our allies in the House to vote according to their consciences and junk the death penalty bill,” he also said. (CBCPNews)

In a letter (March 20,2015) to the International Commission against the Death Penalty, the Pope Francis says that today the death penalty is “inadmissible, no matter how serious the crime committed. It is an offence against the inviolability of life and the dignity of the human person.” He adds that it “does not render justice to the victims, but rather fosters vengeance.”